Kelty Rumpus, 4 or 6 person models check off most of your needs and desires. Huge porch area for the doggo. Partially orange in color. Easy to setup even single handed( i have experience at this). Fits your budget pretty close, 4 person is under $300, 6 person size a little over if it's not on sale. Strong aluminum alloy poles.
Kelty makes decent 6 person capacity tents that aren't outrageously expensive. I have a Rumpus 6.
Things to look for that will help fit your needs...a clip suspension system, for easy setup. Aluminum poles for strength. Available foot print, or a rectangular floor where you can get a cheap tarp and modify it to be a foot print. A side opening duffel type storage bag is convenient for when it's time to pack up.
Don't blame the tent for the weather. The vestibule could be used as a windbreak - to cook in and stuff like that. I like the looks of that tent. I really like my 2 person Kelty, but have yet to find the perfect tent. Mine lets in small puddles near the corners during heavy rains.
Can not recommend Kelty enough!! A few different styles to choose from & can be found on a variety of websites like REI, Backcountry, etc. if you like to hunt for sales. We have the Rumpus 6p (my sister has the 4p and really enjoys it as well) & it has a great balance of features for the price. It’s tall enough for me (5’9”) to stand upright, but my partner (6’3”) cuts it close. Pockets on both sides to store items while you sleep & some internal loops to hand string lights or a lantern. My biggest kudos has to be the rainfly tho! It can be really tricky to find a budget tent with an adequate rain fly. Most Kelty’s come with fly’s that cover to the ground (even on 6p models) & spacious vestibules that make leaving shoes or other gear outside of the tent a nonissue.
I would also second a previous commenter’s note about considering two 4p tents as 6p can take up quite of bit of ground space without a ton of flexibility.
The nights were pretty cold so the extra height did make it colder I think.
I also did not love the real use case for the extra large vestibule. I prefer to leave my vestibule down when inside the tent for privacy, so having such a large space that was only really good for as a door mat and keeping my big tote. I wouldn't want it open because then the whole tent is open. And it really provided no shelter when sitting under it unzipped.
So... where do I go from here? I love the idea of having a "front porch" Do I just get a normal 4p tent and stake down a canopy in front of it instead? It's just 2 of us, and we'd like to get upgrade to thicker more comfy sleeping pads so need at least 4p
BD59
